I Need You
by ER Jenn
Summary: She missed him oh so much. She was barely surviving, and the holidays just made it worse. If it weren't for her friends, her life would be an even worse mess. Late Fourth of July one-shot full of Christmas songs, New Year's Eve parties, hearts, and fireworks. Percabeth. I always rate stories T just in case.


_**Christmas**_

Annabeth missed her dear Seaweed Brain, especially now at supposedly the most wonderful time of the year.

Wonderful time? My boyfriend is missing. Right now nothing is wonderful, she thought to herself.

She was driving through New York, shopping for some last minute Christmas gifts to give to her friends and family.

Annabeth looked out her window as she drove, her eyes laying on a couple.

They had gotten out of the coffee shop, and the girl put her finger in her whipped cream and dabbed it on the boy's nose while laughing.

Laughing back, the boy did the same thing and kissed her nose.

Annabeth's eyes watered. It was so much like her and Percy.

She turned on the radio to try and lighten her mood.

_"Oh baby all I want for Christmas is you!"_ the radio sang.

Groaning, Annabeth switched the station, thinking about her Percy.

_"Baby it's cold outside!"_

Switch.

_"I'll be home for Christmas."_

Switch.

_"Merry Christmas, Darling. We're apart, that's true."_

How many lovey-dovey Christmas stations are there? Annabeth thought to herself as she switched the station once again.

"99.5 bringing you all the hits!" the next station's announcer said.

Finally! she thought.

_"Heart beats fast. Colors and promises."_

Annabeth slammed the power button on the radio.

Why must the Gods hate her? Why must they screw with her life constantly?

Why must they take the one thing she needed in her life?

* * *

_**New Year's**_

"WOO!" Travis yelled running across the first floor of the Big House, hyped up by chocolate and punch.

"Travis! Settle down!" Katie yelled while chasing him.

Here everyone was, taking time off the _Argo II,_ so they could bring in the New Year. Everybody was having the time of their lives.

Everybody except Annabeth, that is.

"Hey, Annabeth," her friend, Grover, said walking up to her.

"Hey, Grover," she replied with the best smile she could manage.

Grover frowned at her fail attempt.

"Annabeth, that's not even a smile. That's more like a frown. It's worse than last week's."

"I know, Grover," she sighed. "I can only handle so much here."

"I understand," he replied. "I think the worst part is trying to get through to him. I should be able to communicate. I don't know why I can't. I'm a failure of a best friend."

"No you're not," she told him. "If Percy were here he'd slap you upside the head for thinking such things."

Grover nodded slowly.

"I just feel like we should be doing something more. He found both of us when we were lost within a week. It's almost close to a month," he said sadly.

"Percy would-" Annabeth started to say, but was then cut off by huge cheering.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year!"

Blow horns went off, cabooses were buzzed, the ball was dropped, mass chaos happened, and 'Auld Lang Syne' was sung.

Then the tv started to show people kissing.

Camp Half-Blood just had to copy it.

Grover kissed Juniper. Piper kissed Jason. Travis even stole a kiss from Katie.

Leo made out with his hand.

Grover came back to talk to Annabeth after his lip lock with Juniper, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Grover left the Big House and desperately searched for her until he found her at the beach.

Annabeth had tears running down her eyes, and was staring out into the sea with a look of longing.

Grover slowly sat down next to her.

"This isn't easy, you know?" she said. "Most days I don't even want to leave my cabin it's too hard, but I do anyways and suffer through not knowing anything. I hate not knowing things."

"I know you do," he replied.

They just sat there in silence with the cheers from the Big House echoing into the night.

This is all they were now. Two pieces of a three piece puzzle.

"Annabeth," Grover said, "can you promise me that for our New Year's resolution we'll stop at nothing to find him? Never take a break, never stop to smell the roses, nothing. We will find him so that by the beginning of 2013 he will be sitting here with us, eating thousands of blue cookies."

Annabeth gave a slight laugh then nodded.

"Goat Boy, we have ourselves a deal."

And so then, their vow lingering into the ocean, a boy with green eyes in a deep slumber far away smiled.

* * *

_**Valentine's** **Day**_

"Will you be my Valentine?" Annaneth heard walking down the halls at her school.

Annabeth winced inwardly.

This was supposed to be the most romantic day of the year for her and her Seaweed Brain, but he just had to go and get himself kidnapped by an evil goddess.

Hearts covered the walls of the high school and roses were being distributed by the student council.

It took all of Annabeth's will power not to cry.

"Hey, Annabeth! Happy Valentine's Day!" her mortal friend, Sutton, exclaimed.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Annabeth muttered.

"What? Are you afraid of being 'Forever Alone' or something? It's Valentine's Day, hon! We get free candy! What could be better?" Sutton teased.

What could be better? Having Percy this Valentine's Day would definitely be better, but that isn't going to happen, Annabeth thought.

"Annabeth!" her other mortal friend, Emma, shouted running towards them. "Why the lone face? It's Valentine's Day! Have a Fun Dip!"

Emma handed her the sugary treat, but Annabeth stared at it like it was a grenade.

"Or not," Emma said while slowly retreating her hand.

"What's with you today? You're moody, but never _this _moody," Sutton said while frowning.

"Sorry," Annabeth said, even though she really wasn't. "I'm just not feeling the love this Valentine's day."

Emma and Sutton stared at her for awhile, waiting for her to continue. When Annabeth didn't, the best friends started exchanging candy and acted like Annabeth was never there.

Annabeth didn't mean to be a party pooper, but it's kind of hard not to when your boyfriend is _still _missing after three months.

Annabeth left her 'friends' and started to head to class where someone dragged her into the janitor's closet.

With her knife in her hand, she started swinging it like a mad man.

"Hey!" a familiar voice said. "Quit it!"

Annabeth squinted her eyes and spoke to her kidnapper, "Thalia?"

"Yes, oh wise one. You almost chopped my head off," she snapped.

"Sorry," Annabeth mumbled.

"Whatever," Thalia said back. "Anyways, you ready to ditch this place?"

Annabeth studied her curiously in the dark light.

"Fine," Annabeth said, seeing that there was no point in arguing with the Hunter. "Where are we going?"

"Candy Mountain!" Thalia exclaimed.

Annabeth stared at her.

"Sorry, sounded like Dora," Thalia said. "We're going to go out to eat."

"Why?" Anabeth asked.

"Stop asking so many questions!" Thalia hissed. "And anyways, I'm your Valentine for the day."

Annabeth sighed, "Okay, we better get going before the bell rings."

And so Annabeth told Sutton and Emma to tell her teachers that she was sick and they easily went out the door to the Temporaries where Annabeth's car was waiting.

"How did you get my car?" Annabeth asked Thalia.

"I stole it from your garage," she said.

"How did you get into my garage?"

"Annabeth, you really need to tell your dad that 1234 is not a good garage code."

Annabeth snickered at her.

The car ride was silent as they drove to McHale's to get some cheeseburgers.

"Any luck with the search on your side?" Annabeth asked Thalia.

"No," Thalia frowned. "It's almost like he went to Mars or something. There's no trace of him whatsoever."

Annabeth winced.

"Annabeth, I didn't mean it like that," Thalia reassured her. "If the idiot was dead then Nico would let us know, you know that. I'm just thinking that maybe Hera is keeping him somewhere. Maybe he hasn't even gotten to the Roman camp yet."

"And that makes me feel _so _much better," Annabeth said, her voice cracking on the word 'better'.

"Hey, at least he's alive," Thalia said.

"True."

The car got awkwardly silent for awhile.

"We're here," Thalia said.

They got out of the car and ordered their cheeseburgers. They sat down at their table with their XXXL cheeseburger still saying nothing.

Thalia randomly started laughing.

"What?" Annabeth frowned.

"Nothing, just thinking about the last time I was here," Thalia said. "Percy tried to eat the burger in one bite. He got about one-fourth of the way before he almost threw up."

Annabeth laughed along with her.

"There's my Annabeth!" Thalia said smiling after they were done with their fit of laughter.

"Yeah, she won't be here for long, though," Annabeth said, smiling sadly.

"I have an idea," Thalia randomly said. "Since Percy isn't here, why don't we act like we're him?"

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"Here, I'll show you," Thalia said, then changed her voice to a very deep and manly tone. "Hey, Wise Girl. I'm still hungry. Why don't we get another one and you can pay?"

Annabeth laughed. "He said that to me once. I slapped him upside the head."

Thalia snickered. "See? It works! Now, your turn!"

They continued their lunch like this and by the time Thalia had to return to the Hunters, they both had tears of laughter, not sadness, in their eyes.

"Bye, Thalia. I'm really going to miss you," Annabeth sniffled.

"I know. I'm really going to miss you, too, Annabeth," Thalia said.

They hugged each other for awhile, then Annabeth watched her best friend start to walk away.

"Thalia!" she called.

Thalia turned around.

"Thank you," Annabeth smiled.

Thalia nodded and smiled back, then ran off to who knows where.

Annabeth walked home that day, smiling to herself.

It was tough having her boyfriend gone, and Annabeth was barely making it through each day.

Annabeth knew, though, that there would be no barely about it if she didn't have her friends.

Her friends were her life support through this tough time where she had no heart, and she didn't know what she'd do without them.

* * *

**_Fourth of July_**

"Hey, Annabeth!" Percy called, patting the spot next to him on the blanket.

Annabeth smiled and made her way forward.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain," she smiled and sat down next to him with his hand in hers.

They were on the _Argo II, _sailing to Rome, and Leo decided to throw some fireworks for Independence Day.

It was the most romantic dating event at Camp Half-Blood, and there was no way that being on a huge flying warship was going to ruin their fun.

Hazel and Frank sat on the blanket next to them, and Piper and Jason sat on the blanket behind them.

"Leo!" Piper called. "What's the holdup? We're waiting!"

"Hold your horses, Beauty Queen!" Leo yelled back.

Percy let out a deep breath of air and laid back, covering his eyes with his hands.

"Hey!" Annabeth said to him, leaning over him and taking his hands off his eyes. "I suffered not seeing those eyes for eight months. I'd rather you didn't do that."

Percy rolled his eyes at her as she bent down to kiss him, but before she could a large _BOOM! _startled them.

Fireworks consisting of reds and blues went off in the night sky.

They started whistling and cheering as the show went on to show George Washington crossing the Delaware, all the presidents (to which Percy yelled "B'Rock!" when Barack Obama showed up), cheeseburgers, pizza, beer, and almost anything that made the United States the United States.

Leo even somehow got Frank's mom into the display, which brought tears and a huge smile to Frank's face.

But the last display is what made Annabeth smile.

They showed Annabeth and Percy in the _Tunnel of Love _ride in their first quest, then Annabeth and Percy near the Sirens, Percy's face when he first saw Annabeth after being captured by a Titan for almost a week, then their first kiss in Mount St. Helen's, and finally their underwater kiss.

Percy laughed and when Leo came back he asked how Leo knew exactly how to create those moments.

Leo smiled and said, "The Stoll's have quite the video collections."

Percy and Annabeth looked at him with confusion spreading across their faces.

"How-?" Percy started.

"I do not know," Leo interrupted.

The night continued with a BBQ and chasing each other with sparklers and Black Cats.

At the stroke of midnight, everyone went back to their rooms on the ship and bid each other goodnight.

Percy walked Annabeth to her room and gave her a hug before going to his room.

"Wait," Annabeth said.

Percy turned around.

Annabeth walked over to him and threw her arms around his neck.

"You have eight months and three holidays to make up for," she said.

"Oh, do I, now?" he smirked.

"Yes, you do," she smiled, then kissed him passionately before heading back to her room.

And for the first time in months, Annabeth slept with a smile on her face.

* * *

**AN: I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did making it! Just a late Fourth of July one-shot. Please review! (:**


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